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Xanadu (Olivia Newton-John and Electric Light Orchestra song)
| Label = Jet (UK) MCA (US) | Writer = Jeff Lynne | Producer = Jeff Lynne | Chronology = Electric Light Orchestra singles | Last single = "I'm Alive" (1980) | Next single = "All Over the World (1980) | This single = "Xanadu" (1980) | Misc = | from Album = Xanadu }} "Xanadu" is the title song from the soundtrack album Xanadu, and is the title song from the 1980 film of the same name. The song is performed by the Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) and Olivia Newton-John. Newton-John sings the primary vocals, with ELO lead singer Jeff Lynne adding "parenthetic" vocals in the style of their other songs on the Xanadu soundtrack, along with providing the instrumentation. The single reached number one in several countries, and was the band's only UK number one single, when it peaked there for two weeks in July 1980. It was certified as "silver" by the British Phonographic Industry. The song peaked at number eight on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in the US. Chart performance Weekly charts Year-end charts Personnel *Olivia Newton-John - lead vocals *Jeff Lynne - Guitar, Keyboards, backing vocals *Bev Bevan - drums, percussion *Richard Tandy - keyboards *Kelly Groucutt - bass guitar, backing vocals *Louis Clark - strings Kirsty K. version | Format = CD | Recorded = 1995 | Genre = Dance | Length = | Label = Central Station | Writer = Jeff Lynne | Producer = }} In early 1996, two Australian dance performers released versions of the song. Sydney singer Olivia Featuring Paula (on the MDS label) released a dance version first, followed by Kirsty K. (on Central Station Records). Both versions charted on the ARIA Singles and Dance Charts in the first half of 1996. Chart performance (Kirsty K. version) New Electric Light Orchestra version In 2000, ELO's Jeff Lynne re-recorded the song, with his own vocals, for the box set Flashback and the All Over the World compilation. Though it was billed as an ELO selection, the song was recorded by Lynne with Marc Mann on keyboards, but with no input from his former bandmates. Sharleen Spiteri version | Format = CD single, digital download | Recorded = 2009 | Genre = Pop | Length = | Label = Mercury, Universal | Writer = Jeff Lynne | Producer = Sharleen Spiteri | Last single = "It Was You" (2008) | This single = "Xanadu" (2010) | Next single = | Misc = }} In 2009, Scottish singer-songwriter Sharleen Spiteri recorded the song for a second studio album titled The Movie Songbook which was released on March 1, 2010 worldwide. Xanadu was released as the lead single from the album in February 2010 and has so far made the BBC Radio 2 C-List. Music video A Music video for the song was added to Spiteri's official YouTube channel in February 2010. The video shows the Capitol Records Building and Spiteri performing the song with an acoustic guitar and one male and two female back up singers. Chart performance Other cover versions Karin Glenmark recorded the song in Swedish, with lyrics by Ingela "Pling" Forsman, and released it as a single in 1980. Her version chartered at Svensktoppen for 10 weeks between October 26-December 21, 1980. 1980 also saw the release of Swedish language-recordings by Ingmar Nordströms., Flamingokvintetten and Wizex. British indie artist Dev Hynes, under his alias, Lightspeed Champion, did his own rendition of "Xanadu" as a b-side to his single "Tell Me What It's Worth". The song appeared on the first episode of the fourth season of the American adult animated sitcom American Dad! "The Vacation Goo" wherein the alien character Roger performed "Xanadu on a cruise ship as he is impersonating Olivia Newton-John. Dannii Minogue also covered "Xanadu" for her 2007 album Club Disco. References External links *In-depth Song Analysis at the Jeff Lynne Song Database (jefflynnesongs.com) * Category:1980 singles Category:1996 singles Category:Olivia Newton-John songs Category:Electric Light Orchestra songs Category:Song recordings produced by Jeff Lynne Category:Songs written by Jeff Lynne Category:Songs from Xanadu (film) Category:UK Singles Chart number-one singles Category:European Hot 100 Singles number-one singles Category:Number-one singles in Germany Category:Dutch Top 40 number-one singles Category:Number-one singles in Norway Category:Dannii Minogue songs Category:Sharleen Spiteri songs Category:Flamingokvintetten songs Category:Wizex songs Category:Ingmar Nordströms songs Category:1980 songs Category:MCA Records singles Category:Jet Records singles